Home / Blog / Jackson National Life Insurance Company Settles Employment Discrimination and Retaliation Case for $20 Million

Jackson National Life Insurance Company Settles Employment Discrimination and Retaliation Case for $20 Million

Jackson National Life Insurance Company recently reached a $20.5 million settlement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) after claims the company harassed, discriminated against and retaliated against female and African American employees. This was the largest monetary settlement ever achieved by the Phoenix and Denver offices of the EEOC.

Case background

According to the lawsuit, the insurance company maintained a hostile work environment that included frequent targeting of female and African American employees. Some of the claims included referring to black employees as “lazy,” forcing black employees to watch demeaning cartoons, upper level management referring to some of the black female employees as “resident street walkers,” at least one high-level executive kissing a subordinate female employee on the lips, and subjecting various female employees to lewd comments about their appearance.

Most of the illicit conduct alleged in the EEOC complaint came from supervisors, executives and managers.

The lawsuit also alleged some of the terms and conditions of employment for the company were also discriminatory against female and African American employees. For example, female and black employees were paid less than their counterparts, and the company regularly chose less-qualified white and male employees over black and female employees for promotion. The company was also alleged to have retaliated against employees who raised the issue of this discrimination, and fired a white vice president after he refused to submit negative evaluations about and discipline a pair of black female employees who complained about discrimination.

It is illegal under federal law for companies to discriminate against employees based on race or gender identity. For more information about the steps you can take to protect your rights if you find yourself in a situation involving discrimination or retaliation, contact an experienced whistleblower lawyer at Kardell Law Group.

"Steve Kardell was terrific in representing me in some very adversarial discussions with Citigroup and also later represented me in my testimony before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission."
-Richard Bowen, Citigroup Whistleblower

"Incredible knowledge of employee related concerns and equally brilliant knowledge of health care regulations, standards of practice. I would recommend this firm to anyone."
-V.B.

"Reaching out to Steve Kardell was the best decision I made. His ability to provide immediate insight and direction was very powerful, and a huge relief during a very stressful time period. For anyone struggling with a whistleblower situation, I would highly recommend at least speaking with Steve. After a 10 minute call with him, I had a better understanding of what I was dealing with. Even better, he gave me some immediate hope.
In the end Steve did a better job than I thought was possible. Steve was able to get in contact with people in my organization, that I didn’t have access to. Because of his years of experience, he already has contacts in many organizations in Dallas. The entire situation was handled peacefully. I was impressed by his ability to “keep the peace”–rather than creating a battle with the organization. The reason I didn’t reach out to a lawyer initially, was because I thought it would mean an immediate end to any hope of a positive relationship with the company. Steve was able to address my concerns, and in the end I was able to continue to work for them."
-KS

"Never thought my career would end like it did after 30 years of service. I was part of the first round of the so called reduction of force. I asked myself how can I be part of this with 30 years of seniority. How did they pick these 90 plus employees? Now, the culture of this organization made you question every decision they made. It wasn’t what you knew it’s was a culture of who you know. Nonetheless, I did not accept their severance package. I immediately starting looking for an attorney who would take on my case. After the initial call to Steve I had hope again. He was open and honest about everything and reassured me he would do his best for me, and he did. I had an awesome outcome. Thanks Steve you’re the best."
-S.S.

Whistleblower Law For Managers is located in Dallas, TX and serves clients in and around Dallas, Irving, Mesquite and Dallas County.

Attorney Advertising. This website is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship. [ Do Not Sell My Personal Information ] [ Site Map ]